


Ben and Kyle

by KitKatPurrpurr



Category: Fandomless
Genre: M/M, abusive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 15:53:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9448970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitKatPurrpurr/pseuds/KitKatPurrpurr
Summary: A series of events in the sad, unhealthy relationship they share.I'd also like to add, for clarification's sake, I refer to Ben as a "boy" a lot, but I want to make clear that he's over 18 (closer to 19, if anything). It's just a style choice, but no, he's not underage.





	1. One Night of Many

The grease on the pan stuck firmly to the worn Teflon, the anti-stick coating long since worn off. Pushing hard into the sponge with his fingers, Ben gritted his teeth and scrubbed at it yet again, his efforts still proving to be fruitless.

“Come on, I let you soak for hours! Please, he’ll be home any minute and I _promised_ I’d have all the dishes done!” Eyes flickering over to the remaining pile of plates he was yet to tackle, he shoved the pan down further into the sink and groaned, filling it up with soapy water again before grabbing a plate to clean off. Ben’s heart raced as he kept an eye on the clock. That morning his boyfriend had woken up in a rather aggravated mood and his job would only exacerbate that by the time he returned.

His thoughts continued to drift as he mindlessly washed dish after dish, wondering what dinner would be like tonight, if they could rent a movie to watch instead of reruns of shows Ben didn’t care for that Kyle seemed to love, just something to switch up the routine. He was brought back to reality when he felt pain upon grabbing another plate, and gasping sharply, retracted his hand.

“What the,” Evidently there was a steak knife underneath the plate he was picking up, and he managed to prick his finger on the tip. “Kyle…”

Before he could silently berate the man, Ben heard the familiar sound of the front door being unlocked, and he jumped back, holding his slightly bleeding finger up to his lips. Kyle walked in carrying a small bag of groceries, which attracted the attention of the smaller man instantly.

“You’re back!” Bounding over, he wiped the rest of the blood off on his shirt, which only added yet another small mark to his already blood-specked top. “What did you buy?” There was a light energy radiating off of him, and the other man picked up on it immediately, giving him a smile.

“Well sweet cheeks, I brought us home some spam and rice since I figured we could cook it up and have a nice home-cooked meal instead of microwave dinners for the sixth night in a row.” Kyle moved a hand up to stroke Ben’s cheek. “Sorry ‘bout that doll, you know how my paychecks have been goin’ towards both of us, so I have less extra to spend.” Pulling the smaller man closer, he wrapped an arm around him, lowering his voice.

“I also bought more lube, since we were runnin’ low.” His hand slowly squeezed one of Ben’s ass cheeks, which made Ben blush and turn away.

“G-good! I tried to clean up the kitchen, but the pan’s got grease caked onto it. I’ll have to let it soak for another hour before I try scrubbing again.” He peered around his partner and back down at the bag. “Unless you happened to get a new sponge while you were away too.”

Tugging the bag out of reach, Kyle groaned and set it on the counter. “I told you Ben, I just don’t have the money right now. I need to keep enough money for weed too, and my fuckin’ dealer’s been jacking up the prices. I’d buy you a new sponge, but it’ll have to wait ‘till my next paycheck.” Taking a look at the remaining mess in the kitchen, he scoffed before heading off to the bathroom.

Ben quietly fiddled with the bag, looking inside to see what else was in there. He could see a package of Skittles and a Monster, which were undoubtedly not for him, nor would he ask. Setting to work on the rest of the dishes, he sighed quietly, drying and putting away the clean ones so he had more room to set the wet ones. It had been months since he had last seen any roaches, which was undoubtedly thanks to him actually keeping things clean. Before Ben moved in, Kyle’s place always stunk, and it was littered with insects. It was truly a miracle he had never been evicted.

“Hey, speaking of Mark, I’ve gotta go see him tonight. I’m about out.” The words followed the sound of a toilet flushing and heavy footsteps in the hallway. Ben turned to look at Kyle as he stood at the end of the kitchen, raising an eyebrow.

“If you could make dinner by the time I’m back, that’d be great. Today’s been just so damn long, and I gotta do this one last thing before I can finally kick back for the night. It’d mean the world to me if you could do that.” Kyle’s pleading look was too much for Ben, and he sighed, shaking his head.

“Alright, you win,” Ben murmured, watching as Kyle pulled the spam and rice from the bag before taking it back close to him. It was clear that he was downplaying the fact that there was candy and an energy drink in there, and Ben pretended not to notice. Bringing it up would only make Kyle mad.

“Thanks babe. I’ll make it up to you tonight, I promise.” A lewd grin crossed the bigger man’s face, which Ben could only weakly chuckle at.

“O-okay hun,” His reply was strained. “I can’t wait.”

Kyle darted back into the bedroom to drop off the lube while Ben went back to dishwashing. Now more than ever he needed to finish so he could make dinner for them, since he’d need the pan that was soaking to fry up the spam. _Hopefully that grease will come off more easily after sitting in soap_ , he thought to himself.

“Alright, I’ll be back in an hour or so. Be good!” Before Ben could even reply, Kyle was out the door, though he made sure to lock it before heading down to his car. It always made Ben curious if Kyle locked the door to keep him safe, or if so no one could get to him. He usually believed it to be both reasons.

After several minutes, the only dishes left to be cleaned were a couple glasses and the dreaded pan, and once the former was taken care of, Ben gritted his teeth and put all his energy into scrubbing off every last bit of charred… whatever Kyle had cooked that morning. It took about five minutes, and by the end he was exhausted, but pleased with himself. Taking out an empty pot, he filled it with water and the rice, setting it to boil as he prepared the spam to be cooked. Considering Kyle wasn’t going to be back for another hour or two, he had time to spare on the meat, since the rice could sit in the pot and be fine.

Ben waited for the pot to boil before turning the heat all the way down and putting a lid on it, which was when he noticed how dirty his skin felt. A day of cleaning had made the boy feel a bit grubby. Heading off to take a shower, he closed the door behind him and stripped down, trying not to look in the mirror. His body was covered in bruises and marks, most inflicted upon him, though some were self-inflicted, and looking at them reminded him of how much had changed since he first ran away from home, how much _he_ had changed.

The hot water on his body soothed him whenever it didn’t hurt the raw skin on some of his cuts. Despite wanting to stand in there until Kyle returned, he knew he had to keep an eye on the rice, so grabbing the thin piece of soap that was left on the edge of the tub, he quickly washed himself, wincing every now and then. As he bathed, he couldn’t help but notice the returning mildew. He’d cleaned the tub just over a week ago and it still looked like it hadn’t been properly cleaned in far too long. After soaping himself up, he quickly shampooed, closing his eyes and tuning out the world for only a moment while he slowly massaged his scalp. It was only when Kyle wasn’t home and he got to shower alone that he was truly ever able to relax.

Unfortunately, the moment would be over all too soon once he remembered the rice and the spam he hadn’t yet fried. With a sigh, Ben finished rinsing off and carefully climbed out of the shower, grabbing the towel from the rack to dry off. He hadn’t been able to get any laundry done in two weeks, and he was down to his last clean pair of underwear, though he wouldn’t wear it just yet. He’d change it in the morning, since his current pair would be removed later that evening anyhow. Still, putting on the dirty pair didn’t help him feel very clean despite having just showered.

The rice was still cooking away with ten minutes left to go, so Ben pulled out the spices he was going to use on the spam, setting them aside for later. It was still too early to cook it, so he sat down on the couch. Most of the day the TV stayed off (Kyle didn’t like Ben using too much of the electricity when he was away), but considering he hadn’t watched anything all day, Ben figured it was fine if he turned it on for now. At first he mindlessly flipped through channels. Nothing captured his attention, except when he spotted Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones talking to each other in suits. Quickly flipping back to it, his mouth opened and he sat forward, having not seen his favorite movie, _Men in Black_ , in years.

Memories of when he first watched it with his parents flooded him, and he was suddenly struck with grief over how he’d run from home, how his relationship with his father had deteriorated so much in the last several years after his mother abandoned them, and how he’d felt that all he could do was get away. Ben getting into prostitution was only because of a lack of permanent residence and fears of commitment to a more typical job. His naturally flirty nature and body type only made it that much easier for him to keep going with it, at least, until Kyle came along.

Ben was at the edge of the couch watching the movie in wonder, taking in every moment of the scene as tears trickled out of his eyes. He was so enraptured with it that he didn’t notice the time flying by, and once he looked up at the clock, he gasped, realizing the rice had been cooking for longer than he meant for it to, and leaping up from the couch, ran over to turn off the burner. Luckily for him, the rice hadn’t stuck to the bottom of the pot all that much.

“At least I haven’t ruined the spam yet,” he mumbled to himself. Taking a pat of butter and dropping it into the pan, he turned the heat on underneath it and turned around to cut up the spam into three long slices. There weren’t many spices in the apartment for him to use, but a bit of garlic and onion powder would taste just fine, he hoped.

The spam cooked quickly, and Ben placed one and a half slices on two plates, along with large spoonfuls of rice, making sure to grab forks, which he brought over to the coffee table in front of the couch. It almost slipped his mind to grab drinks, so he got two bottles of water for both of them, and not a moment too soon either. Kyle fumbled with the door lock, which caused Ben to jump in his seat on the couch. His heart was racing, since it was never a good sign when Kyle was hurriedly trying to get the door open. Holding his hands close to his chest, he bit his lip. The other man finally managed to get inside, grumbling and closing the door roughly.

“FUCK him. I swear to fucking GOD I’m gonna kill his ass the next time he tries to charge me that much. Break his fuckin’ nose by bouncin’ his sorry face off the fucking pavement.” Stomping over to the couch, he practically slammed his hand on the coffee table to set his weed down, growling and taking a deep breath. Ben had backed up away from him on the couch, mouth hanging open and his body shivering. Kyle noticed this and turned to look at him.

“Hey doll, I ain’t mad at you. Just Mark. No need to be scared.” His voice was soft and he leaned over to pull Ben close to him, eyelids fluttering almost shut. “I’d never do any of that to you.” One of Kyle’s hands pulled the smaller man’s waist closer to him, while the other tilted Ben’s head up so he could kiss him.

The boy gasped softly as their lips met, still shaking just a bit, especially once Kyle accidentally put pressure on one of Ben’s many bruises, bruises that Kyle had inflicted on him for the most minor of things. True, it was highly unlikely that Kyle would ever smash Ben’s face against concrete and kill him, but there were a myriad of other things the man would do to him (and had done before). He had very valid reason to be afraid of him.

“I-I made dinner!” Ben was desperate to change the subject from sex to dinner, since he was admittedly starving. Glancing down at the plate, Kyle’s smile returned and he pulled up both plates, taking his fork and cutting the spam with it. The smile only grew when he took a bite.

“Damn Ben, good job on this! You’re quite the cook, aren’t you?” The compliment made Ben’s heart flutter, and he grinned before taking his own bite, scooting in closer to Kyle. The two of them ate quickly, with Kyle realizing that the TV was on once he stopped looking down at Ben.

“Hey, this is that alien movie, right? Black Men or something,” He trailed off as he took another bite.

“ _Men in Black_. It was a favorite movie of mine as a kid.” Blushing, Ben stuffed his face with more food so Kyle wouldn’t really be able to see, though he did add, “I just never got to see the sequels.” Glancing down at the smaller man, Kyle chuckled.

“Really? I didn’t know you were a fan. Maybe sometime we can rent the other ones and watch ‘em. Ya know, have our own little movie night.” The prospect of such a thing made Ben gasp happily, and setting his plate down, threw his arms around Kyle and kissed his cheek.

“Really!? You mean it? Oh my god, that’d be amazing!” Ben was rocking around on the couch excitedly, which made Kyle laugh softly.

“Oh yeah? Well I’m glad. You’ve been helpin’ me a lot and I figure you deserve a little treat like that. Might have to wait a while, but I promise we’ll do it.” Kyle gave him another kiss on the forehead and finished eating, setting his plate on the coffee table and taking the water bottle. He kept his eyes down on Ben, who was finishing up his dinner while completely engaged in the movie, to the point he didn’t notice Kyle reaching a hand down to slowly stroke his side.

“Mmm, you’re such a good boy, Ben,” Kyle spoke softly. As much as he wanted to have Ben suck him off right here (his pants were already tightening), tonight he wanted to reward Ben, and as such, he would wait through the movie (it seemed to be almost over) and then treat him once they were in bed. Dishes could wait until morning. They always could.

It seemed Kyle would only need to wait another twenty minutes before the movie ended, and once it did, he moved a hand to Ben’s chin to tilt it back towards him.

“You ready for your reward Ben? I promise you’ll like it.” The smile that had formed on Kyle’s face meant only one thing, and Ben knew he didn’t want to face it sober.

“Can we smoke a bowl first? I haven’t been high all day and I’d really like to mellow out so I can enjoy it even more. Is that okay _baby_?” He didn’t often use that pet name, so when he did, it had a way of making Kyle melt. The bigger man groaned quietly, his pants feeling unbearably restrictive now.

“You bet. This night is yours.” Quickly setting to work on getting his bong ready, Kyle scooted closer to Ben, grabbing his lighter and holding it up so he could take it. “Here you go babe.”

The two of them each took a few hits before Ben finally felt at ease, leaning against Kyle with his eyes half closed. He didn’t notice that Kyle had already undone his pants a little bit, and sighed lightly as arms wrapped around him, picking him up from the couch slowly and steadily. The familiar rocking motion of Kyle carrying him to the bedroom relaxed him more, and he giggled quietly to himself.

The bigger man flicked the light on and carefully placed Ben down on the mattress, kneeling on the bed to turn on the lamp. Moving back to turn off the bright overhead lights, he climbed on top of Ben and rested his hands on the boy’s sides, slowly sliding his shirt up and off of him while leaning his head down to kiss his neck.

“God _damn_ you’re sexy, and you smell so _good_ …” Kyle pushed his hips up against Ben’s groin, straddling him a bit while he reached a hand down into his pants. The groping made him squeak and moan, squirming under Kyle’s hand, and he whimpered into his boyfriend’s neck weakly.

“ _Kyle_ …” Hearing his name moaned out like that made the man squeeze Ben’s cock harder, resulting in a louder, pleasured gasp.

“So tell me, _baby_ , do you want daddy’s gift?” His words were whispered into Ben’s ear, and he felt himself throbbing hard. He pulled Ben’s pants down and took both of their cocks in hand, squeezing them together as precum dribbled down onto the boy’s torso. It was almost more than he could handle.

“ _Please daddy… make me feel good…_ ”


	2. His Gift

For what would be one of the very few times in his life, Kyle moved himself down Ben’s body, dragging his fingertips down the sensitive skin to trigger a shiver in the smaller man. His head resting above Ben’s cock, he pushed the broad side of his tongue against the underside of his shaft, slowly licking up as Ben craned his head back, a long moan escaping him. Kyle reveled in the way he reacted, pushing the boy’s tip up into his mouth and sliding his hand to steady him, pushing his foreskin up a little bit.

Ben whimpered and tucked up his legs around the other man’s shoulders. One of his hands moved to hold Kyle’s head, while the other to his mouth, biting his finger as he turned his head to the side. His whole body shook as Kyle slid his cock all the way into his mouth, which resulted in a breathy gasp.

“Kyle…!” The words were cut off as the bigger man began sucking on him, precum trickling out of his cock as Ben’s face turned red. Panting and moaning with his eyes half-closed, he was unaware of Kyle reaching for the lube, and before he knew it, two fingers were pushed into his ass. The unexpected sensation caused him to arch up his back suddenly, which shoved his cock further into Kyle’s mouth, something the other man did _not_ care for.

Moving his free hand to Ben’s hips, he gripped him tightly, shoving him back down onto the bed. For a brief moment, Kyle considered stopping completely. Still, seeing Ben’s reactions to everything else had been satisfying, so he continued, making sure to curl up his fingers hard against Ben’s prostate, resulting in a sharp whine from the smaller man.

Kyle was admittedly eager to have sex, so he pushed Ben further in, hoping that the lack of oral sex performed on him normally would make him cum sooner. Sliding in a third finger, he stretched Ben out a bit more, sucking hard as the smaller man cried out and held his legs together, back arching up gradually this time as his orgasm grew nearer and nearer. His head was spinning, and letting his mouth hang open, he felt a shiver run through his body.

Of course it was the sound he made that made Kyle smile and swallow gleefully. Not bothering to clean his partner up, the man pulled off of him and slid his fingers out of Ben, instead using what was already on them to lube up his cock. By now, Ben was pretty out of it, drooling out a bit on the sheets as his legs were spread apart.

“Daddy’s gonna have a little fun too now, okay baby?” Kyle leaned in close to Ben’s ear and whispered the words, with little of a reaction from him. Ben’s eyes had already closed, and he moaned softly as the skin on his neck was pinched between Kyle’s teeth, the feeling of the other man’s cock against his ass only getting harder until he slipped in. Ben whimpered out an almost crying-like noise as his mouth opened wider again, though his whole body felt weak.

The next several minutes were but a blur to him. Every now and then he’d feel sharp pressure on his stomach, neck, arms, or legs, and eventually once the movements in and out of him slowed down, with Kyle pulling out to cum on Ben’s stomach, he felt free of any dedication to the night and let himself begin to drift off.

Unfortunately, Kyle didn’t want to sleep with a mess, so he pushed Ben up to his feet and led him into the bathroom. Only snippets of things that were spoken to him stuck in his mind, and hazily gazing at himself in the mirror as Kyle wiped him down, he could faintly see red spots on his skin from places where the man had been a bit rough… again.

“ _Fantastic tonight… morrow in another… up straight I can’t fucking…_ ”

At this point, the weed was wearing off and actual lethargy setting in, and as he was led to the bed again, Ben felt an uneasy shiver run down his spine as Kyle kept him close. He was pulled down into the bed alongside him, naturally being pushed into the little spoon role as the bigger man hugged him tightly. A sick feeling formed as he slowly remembered what they’d done that night which, coupled with how exhausted he was, made him quiver lightly, something that Kyle noticed.

“Hey, you okay?” Stroking Ben’s arm with his thumb, Kyle pulled his head up close to the smaller man’s neck, nuzzling him just a bit. Ben couldn’t bring himself to cry or anything else, at least, not anymore. Usually the shaking would start long after Kyle had fallen asleep and Ben, reeling from the physical and emotional stress of both the day and night, would struggle to get any sleep at all, but it seemed today it began early.

“Y-yeah, just exhausted I guess,” he lied. Ben knew better than to imply that anything was wrong, since he didn’t even know what _was_ wrong. He simply knew he felt _bad_.

“Well then, some sleep might do you good. C’mon, try to catch some z’s with me babe.” Kyle’s words were trailing off as he rested his head just beside Ben’s, sighing. Ben looked down a bit and almost closed his eyes, but couldn’t bring himself to keep them shut, curling up his hands into his chest as he listened to Kyle’s breathing. His boyfriend curled his arms around him just a little bit tighter.

“I love you, Ben.”

For a moment, he froze, but then, he rolled over and buried his face in Kyle’s chest, trying to pretend that everything felt happy and good, that he felt safe and protected, even if only for a moment. Ben used his remaining energy to cling to it, and feeling the strength leave his body for the final time that night, tilted his head up to nuzzle up against the other man’s neck.

“I love you too.”


	3. Candy Bar

The sounds of Kyle tossing the skillet into the sink while shouting at the TV, rudely woke the sleeping Ben, who had been getting an extra hour of rest. Sitting up in a hurry, he slumped back down on the bed, resting on one hand, while groaning to himself.

“Yeah, that’s right, you piece of shit! Take him down!” The other man could only be watching WWE. It was the only sport Kyle watched regularly, and he would dedicate entire days to it, making Ben his “beer boy,” fetching him drinks and snacks so he wouldn’t have to tear away from the TV except to pee.

Sneaking out of the bedroom, Ben made his way into the bathroom, quietly splashing water on his face at the sink. He watched his hands as he filled them with water, noticing a small cut on his hand that he hadn’t seen before. Although they shook lightly, he managed to steady them enough to inspect them the rest of the way, which was when his eyes picked up on a few more nicks on the back of his hands. Each one would certainly sting while he did the dishes later.

Fixing up his tank top, Ben wandered out into the main area of the apartment and moved for the fridge. The rattling of bottles from the door alerted the other man to Ben’s presence and looking back at him, smiled and waved him over. Ben shrunk back a bit as he was noticed, and closing the fridge, he stepped around the counter over to the couch.

“Hey baby, ‘bout time you got up.” Kyle didn’t wait for Ben to sit down before taking his arm and tugging him down to the cushions. Wincing, Ben fell into his boyfriend’s lap, where he was bestowed with a rough kiss upon his cheek. Evidently this wasn’t where Kyle intended to kiss him, and lightly jerking on Ben’s arm, followed with a “hey.” It took a moment for Ben to look up, sighing quietly as his tired eyes rose to meet the other man’s. Without hesitation, his boyfriend had pushed their lips together, to which Ben could only instinctively try to move back from.

“What?” Kyle pulled away quickly. “What’s wrong? Why are you moving away?” Ben opened his mouth to respond, but he didn’t know what to say. After a moment of thinking, with Kyle staring him down, he cleared his throat and whispered out a reply.

“I’m… I’m just a bit tired, still waking up. I-it’s just kind of a lot to process at once.” This only made the other man roll his eyes.

“Alright, I guess.” Sitting back against the couch, he turned his attention to the TV once more, grumbling under his breath. Ben had no desire to move closer, but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to get up yet. Running his shaky fingers through his hair, he glanced down and bit his lip.

“I-I’m sorry Kyle, I didn’t mean to make you think I didn’t wanna be kissed or anything.” He kept moving his hand, pulling the hair back a bit as he awaited a response. Kyle continued watching the TV without acknowledging the apology before he lowered his gaze, not looking up at Ben quite yet. With a long, drawn-out sigh, he moved an arm onto the back of the couch, turning his head to look into the smaller man’s eyes, still no trace of a smile on his lips.

“You know it really hurts me when you try to pull away. It feels like you don’t love me, or that I’m ugly or some shit.” His fingers gripped the cushions, making Ben shrink back even more. Unfortunately, this was noticed by Kyle, and he moved his other hand up suddenly to gesture at him.

“See!? You’re doing it now! Am I right? Do you not like me?” Kyle’s face contorted into a snarl as Ben moved forward to touch his leg, trying to calm him down.

“Kyle! That’s not true! I love you, I love you dearly! I was just tired, that’s all! I promise!” Now he was shaking hard, eyes wide as Kyle grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly, debating whether or not to shove him off. It took every ounce of Ben’s strength not to cry out in pain, since some pre-existing bruises were being pressed within his hand, and tears reactively rolled out of his eyes. Having made up his mind, Kyle shoved Ben back a bit, releasing him and turning to face the TV once again.

“Fine, fine!” His brow remained furrowed as he resumed watching wrestling, no longer paying Ben any attention. The smaller man gingerly rubbed his hurt arm, noticing the mark from his boyfriend’s tight grip and biting his quivering lip.

“I’m… I’m gonna step out onto the balcony for a few minutes.” His words were soft, and without looking back at Kyle, he hopped up from the couch and walked around it to the patio doors. Before he could walk all the way through, Kyle piped up one final time.

“If you want to make it up to me, clean the kitchen. Should give you plenty of time to think about shit.” Kyle remained rather monotone and cold, reaching for his beer as Ben shut the doors behind him.

There wasn’t all that much to see from the balcony, apart from the other run-down apartments across the alleyway, although further off to the south, above the street, more of the cityscape could be seen. Distant sounds of cars, barking dogs, and sirens filled the ambience of his neighborhood, sounds that never quite seemed to soothe him. Still they weren’t Kyle and the TV, which was enough to put his mind at ease.

Re-inspecting his arm, Ben saw the familiar redness on his forearm that would inevitably turn into a bruise, and for the first time in a while, he waved away all the excuses he repeatedly made to himself, justifying Kyle’s roughness with him. He _knew_ that his boyfriend was rough with him, and _knew_ it wasn’t healthy. After all, even though his parents fought a lot, especially before his mother left them, not once did his father ever lay a hand on her. And yet with Kyle, the smallest of offenses resulted in some kind of injury. It wasn’t fair at all, but he also knew that there was very little he could do about it.

Hugging his arms, Ben finally allowed himself to cry, if only a little bit. The release was only ever partially cathartic, seeing as Kyle had a way of making him feel bad for doing it at all, and before he went back in, he’d have to hide any trace of tears having ever been there. He spent the next minute wiping his eyes with his fingers, which he then dried off on his pants. Banking on the hope that Kyle wouldn’t look up at him, he took a few deep breaths before walking back inside, quietly closing the doors behind him. As he suspected, Kyle didn’t acknowledge his entrance, and silently moving over to the kitchen, set to work scrubbing away at the dishes with the old, worn-out sponge.

Over the course of the next several hours, Ben periodically fetched things for Kyle, all while cleaning up the kitchen. By the time Kyle was done watching his show, the grubby old kitchen seemed to have a glow to it, although the man didn’t really notice as he went back to the bedroom to grab some clothes. Peering around the door frame at him, Ben watched as Kyle pulled on his boots.

“H-hey. You going somewhere?” The boy was almost afraid to ask. He hadn’t gotten out of the house in over a week, and cabin fever was starting to get to him. The question made Kyle roll his eyes and sigh, but he didn’t get angry.

“Probably just the store down the street. Why, you want to come or something?” The way he asked made it clear that he would view Ben’s company as a drag more than anything, but he hadn’t immediately shut it down, which gave Ben hope.

“It’d be nice. I mean, I spent all day cleaning. Getting out, even for only a little bit, would be fun.” Giving Kyle his sweetest smile, he did his best to look submissive and sorry for earlier, and evidently it was enough to convince the man.

“Fine. Just take a coat ‘cause it’s cold, and I’m not sharing mine.” Ben hopped into the room excitedly and began dressing himself for their walk. All he really had to wear for a coat was a rather thin jacket, but it was better than nothing, and if he stuck by Kyle, then hopefully he wouldn’t have to worry. Tugging on his worn Converse, he brushed out his hair with his fingers. Ben tentatively placed a hand on Kyle’s arm, looking up to see if he would mind, but there was no reaction from him, leading Ben to slowly wrap his arms around Kyle, who merely stopped moving.

“Thank you, Kyle. I mean it.” No response, at least, not initially. With a long sigh, Kyle placed his arm on Ben’s back and gently rubbed it, though he didn’t respond any further than that. Physical affection was more than enough of a good sign for Ben, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Together, they made their way down the street in the fading sunlight, not speaking to each other, but the atmosphere between them significantly more relaxed. The corner store didn’t have a very wide selection, but Kyle did buy some chips and soda while Ben perused the candy. How long had it been since he last had any? Deciding on a Twix bar, he brought it over to his boyfriend, who was in the process of paying, and held it up to show him.

“K-Kyle? Can I have this? It’s only 89 cents.” The cashier stopped mid-sentence and looked over at the Twix before glancing back at Kyle to see if it needed to be added to the total. Kyle opened his mouth as if he were going to protest, but not wanting to look like a penny pincher in front of strangers, snatched it out of Ben’s hand and placed it on the counter.

“And one Twix bar.” He huffed quietly, pulling Ben to his side. Happy to at least be getting something, Ben stayed silent for as long as they remained in the store, thanking Kyle once they were outside.

“I was gonna share these chips with you, you know, but I figure maybe you deserve an extra treat of your own.” The tone in his voice was not convincing at all. Ben knew that he didn’t want to buy it but had reluctantly done so anyway. It worried Ben, how Kyle would take this out on him, since he assuredly would.

Upon arriving at the apartment, Ben began pulling off his jacket while walking to the bedroom, unknowingly being followed closely. Turning around once he threw his jacket to the side, he was face to face with Kyle, who kept the bag of snacks out of his reach with one hand, placing the other on Ben’s shoulder. The bigger man pushed him down onto the bed in one swift motion, causing Ben to gasp. The bag was tossed onto a pile of laundry as Kyle dropped to his knees on either side of Ben, effectively pinning him beneath him.

“You owe me for the chocolate.” Leaning over the now-cowering Ben, Kyle rested his weight on one hand while the other undid his pants.

“B-but I thought you said I deserved-“ The boy was cut off when a hand came up to grab his hair.

“What? Are you fucking stupid? We have that bullshit this morning, which you may have made up for by cleaning the kitchen, but then not only do you beg to come with me to the store, you put me on the spot in front of other people by asking me for a candy bar, knowing I’m not gonna say no in front of them. I think I _more_ than deserve something for being jerked around by you today.”

A knot formed in Ben’s gut as Kyle listed off all the ways he had been mistreated, making Ben feel absolutely horrid about how he’d acted, and in fact begun to feel guilty for moping earlier on the balcony.

“Y-you’re right Kyle. I’m sorry.” Every word from his mouth was a whisper, which only made Kyle jerk his head up by his hair.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.” The larger man pushed himself down on Ben’s chest just a bit more, causing Ben to cough.

“I’m sorry Kyle! You’re right, I h-have been unfair to you!” Another weak cough came from him as he shook beneath the other man. “I’m s-sorry!”

“Good. Now open your goddamn mouth so I can get what _I_ fucking want.”

Releasing Ben’s hair and moving up off the boy’s chest, Kyle pulled his underwear down, letting his cock hang loose. Ben’s eyes glazed over as he closed them, opening his mouth and letting his tongue hang out to guide Kyle in. The larger man would do most of the work for him, meaning all he had to do was lie there and take it.

Ben tried to think of other things. He tried thinking of the candy bar he was going to eat afterwards. He tried thinking of being asleep later on. He even tried thinking of back before he ran away. Every so often, he’d cough as Kyle slid too far in, and tears would trickle down his cheeks, staining the sheets beneath him. Once the familiar, bitter taste landed on his tongue, he quickly swallowed it down, sitting up on the edge of the bed as Kyle left to go enjoy some more TV before bed. The Twix bar had been tossed on the bed beside him, and as Ben stared at the gold wrapper, more tears erupted from his eyes.

All of it, the intimidation, the forced blowjob, had been over the piece of 89 cent candy that Ben had wanted. He was awash with regret, wishing he had never asked for it, or even asked to go on the walk! Then maybe he wouldn’t be sitting there, sobbing into his hands over a candy bar, and feeling completely and utterly pathetic. It would be a long time before he ever knew what the true injustice was.


	4. Punishment Enough

Ben stared up at the light peeking in through the small window above the bed. His eyes tracked the movement of dust particles dancing around in the rays, keeping the rest of his body very still. One bit of dust broke free of the cloud and floated down towards his nose, swaying back and forth, and he blew up more air from his mouth to keep it airborne. His ribs ached and pursing his lips caused them to split in a few places, making him sigh weakly.

Slowly turning his head to the side, Ben stared at the cold, empty space where Kyle had been an hour before. The call of a full bladder urged him to sit up, and he only begrudgingly obliged, whimpering to himself as he wrenched himself from the mattress. He took his sweet time getting up before stumbling his way over to the bathroom. After a quick piss, he stepped to the side to wash his hands, keeping his head down for as long as he could until his curiosity grew the better of him, and he looked up into the mirror to assess the damage.

His chest was marred with a couple huge bruises, and the bags under his eyes were darker than he’d ever seen them before. Licking his lips, he winced as his tongue brushed over the biggest split, knowing that it’d only get worse as the day went on. He raised a hand up and brushed out his hair with his fingers, his thoughts plagued with how he’d manage to get through the day in this much pain. Kyle had no sympathy for the boy, so he’d have to manage as much as possible to avoid incurring any more of the other man’s wrath.

A note had been left for Ben, which he read after stopping in the bedroom to change, containing a list of chores that Kyle evidently wanted to make sure were done before he got home. There were no kind words like “love you!” on the note anywhere; it was a task list and not anything lovey. “Living room” was at the very top of the list, and Ben glazed over as he saw the mess left there for him. Several cans of beer and empty chip and candy bags littered the coffee table, along with Kyle’s bong and some of his weed. He actually trusted Ben not to smoke any while he was gone, so leaving it out never concerned him.

Grabbing a trash bag, Ben began picking up the leftover garbage, leaving the bong alone for now while he discerned which containers of weed to save and which were empty and could be tossed. He moved the bong over to the kitchen counter and set to work wiping off the coffee table and vacuuming up crumbs from the couch and floor, leaving the hand vac on the table so he could use it once he was done sweeping. Of course, being in pain and not eating much the last several days left him significantly weaker than normal, and Ben sat down on the arm of the couch to catch his breath, closing his eyes momentarily.

_I have to eat something…_

Darting over to the fridge, he cracked it open and found almost nothing. A couple powerades rested on the door, and the remnants of a rotisserie chicken Kyle had bought for himself a few nights ago were sitting in a container, but very little was otherwise in there, and none of it he was allowed to touch. The pantry was equally as barren, and Ben shrunk back, hugging himself as his eyes watered. His boyfriend was starving him out, and it was wearing him down badly.

Turning back to the broom closet, he pulled out the rest of his cleaning supplies and busied himself with tidying up the living room. In no time at all, the place looked livable again, and he took the opportunity to drop down onto the couch and relax. A couple minutes turned into an hour, and he awoke from his unexpected nap with his stomach lurching.

_Just an hour… it’s okay, it was just an hour…_

An hour less to work on his chores, though, but he knew that.

Spying the bong on the counter, Ben realized that he still hadn’t completely finished his first task, especially since Kyle always expected it to be waiting for him in front of the couch every night. After getting up quickly and having to brace himself on the couch while the blood pressure in his head stabilized, he walked over to the counter and grabbed it. Rounding the corner, he stumbled forward towards the fridge, still feeling a bit dizzy, but misplaced his hand and fell completely to the ground – and landed on the bong.

The glass shattered beneath his weight and cut deeply into his chest, neck, arm, and hand, staining the floor with blood as he cried out. For the moment, all he could do was scream, unable to push himself free, but as the searing pain filled his head, he focused every ounce of strength he had to use his uninjured hand to push off the ground and sit back against the fridge. Ben was hysterical, hoping that maybe someone would hear his wails and call 911, but he knew from experience that no one would hear him. No one was ever there.

Picking pieces of glass out of his skin, he whimpered as more blood ran down his front. He was so preoccupied with his current situation that he almost forgot about the chores he had to do, and once again, he broke down into more sobbing, wanting so _badly_ to get up and keep going, but even he knew that doing such a thing was futile. Part of him wondered if perhaps he SHOULD just bleed out. If he passed out or died, he wouldn’t be in any more pain, and he wouldn’t have to worry about what Kyle would think when he got home.

_Kyle…_

But he knew he couldn’t do that. His eyes clouded up again at the thought of his beloved coming home to find him dead on the floor, a sorrowful moan bubbling up in his throat. He knew how distraught he would be if he ever woke up and found Kyle dead, and knowing how much his boyfriend needed him, he’d probably be even more upset if he were in that situation. Today, Ben knew he didn’t want to die.

Pressing back against the fridge, he stood up. He had no option but to keep leaning back, since the blood loss only weakened him, and he would continue to worsen if he slowed down. Making his way slowly against the wall, he headed into the bedroom and sat down beside his pile of dirty laundry, breath shaking as he calmed himself down. One of the shirts on top was a bit bigger, so he grabbed it and pressed it to his chest, while a smaller one he wrapped around his arm. The bleeding would stop at the cost of the tiny shards of glass lodged in his arm being forced in a little further. Now, all Ben could do was wait for Kyle to come home and find him.

The hours passed as Ben faded in and out of sleep. The bleeding did stop, although glass still remained in his skin, and every time he woke up, the light had moved further across the bedroom. Eventually it disappeared, and gradually the room grew dark, leaving Ben horribly alone and fearful. Kyle _never_ came home late, and the longer he was out, the more Ben worried that something had happened to him. Perhaps he’d gotten drunk and was pulled over, then he wouldn’t be able to come home for several days! Or worse, if he’d gotten into an accident, he might even be _dead_! Tears trickled out of his eyes and his body shook.

By the time Kyle did arrive, Ben was somewhere halfway between waking and sleeping, and even the slamming of the door didn’t phase him. He couldn’t really tell what he was hearing, but it sounded like his boyfriend moving about in the living room. There was almost no energy left in his body to call out to him, so he hoped that he would see the mess in the kitchen and look for him. And yet, the only thing he heard was the TV turning on and Kyle dropping down onto the couch, the sounds of wrestling echoing out of the TV speakers.

“Fuck, I missed the first ten minutes.” The man remained oblivious to the whereabouts of his housemate, instead being sucked into his show. Ben mustered up all the strength he could to cry out, but all that came out was a soft moan, one that certainly wouldn’t be heard over the TV. The boy was so desperate to be noticed, and even the pain that had dulled earlier was coming back, bringing tears to his eyes again.

For about a half hour, Ben went completely unnoticed. Pulling out some weed he bought earlier that night, Kyle reached out for his bong and found it not where he expected it to be.

“Where the fuck’s my bong?” When his question was met with silence, he called out a bit louder.

“Ben? Where did you put my bong?” Looking back at the kitchen, he saw the lights off in the bedroom and bathroom down the hall, and a bit of anger flickered in him. The mess from this morning was still there! Why did he think he could afford to take a nap if he hadn’t done all his chores? Slamming his hands down on the coffee table, he stood up and stormed off towards the bedroom, where Ben was cowering and whimpering.

_Please discover the blood on the floor…_

Unfortunately, Kyle had tunnel vision for the bedroom, and with no light on besides the lamp he turned on beside the TV, he didn’t catch the mess in the kitchen. Kyle slammed the light switch with his palm of his hand and bore his eyes down at the bed, only to find that Ben wasn’t on it. Instead, he was sitting on the floor against the wall, curled up under his dirty laundry.

“What the fuck is this!? What the hell are you doing in here?” His furious glare wore its way into Ben, even though the smaller man wasn’t even looking at him. In fact, he didn’t even move. His eyes had glazed over and he tried not to focus on how much pain he was in, which was only made worse by Kyle kicking him lightly with his boot.

“C’mon, get up.” When he didn’t get an immediate response, he kicked him again, just a bit harder. “Ben, come ON. What’s your problem?” Bending down, he ripped the extra clothes off of him, revealing the blood-soaked shirt Ben was wearing still. The shock of the sight took him aback and he grimaced, all the anger he had just felt fading away.

“Oh Jesus Ben…” Squatting down, he forcefully tilted Ben’s head back, looking into his eyes to see them still moving and blinking, but with him otherwise not moving around. Kyle was no longer afraid that his boyfriend was dead, and his touch became far more gentle, carefully undoing the shirt Ben had wrapped around his arm. Delicately pulling the boy’s shirt off his body, he could see all the spots where the glass had cut into him, and he even felt a small pang of regret at the sight of the bruises beneath the blood stains on his skin.

Kyle glanced down at the floor and saw the trail of blood leading out to the kitchen, and standing up again, followed it back to its origin on the floor in front of the fridge, shattered glass still spread out on the floor. Groaning, he walked back into the bedroom and carefully picked Ben up, carrying him to the bathroom and sitting him down on the toilet after closing the lid. He kept a first-aid kit behind the door and grabbed it, pulling out antiseptic and bandages. There was still glass in most of his wounds, which he knew needed to be removed, so after finding his tweezers in the medicine cabinet, he pulled Ben off the toilet and sat down on it, placing the boy in his lap.

The next twenty minutes he spent carefully inspecting each cut for glass and removing any he found. Ben had completely surrendered himself to Kyle, closing his eyes and tuning out the bits of pain he felt every now and then, which eventually grew more and more infrequent.

“I gotta get you in the shower. We need to clean you up and I’m not gonna just wipe you off with a wet towel.” As he spoke, he started pulling Ben’s pants and underwear off. Standing up, he carried the smaller man over to the tub and set him down, and grabbing the showerhead, pointed it away from him while he let the water warm up. Ben shivered in the cold tub, the edges of the even colder water making him quietly yelp. Once the water was hot enough, Kyle pointed it at Ben, carefully tilting his head back so he could rinse off his neck as well. Every bit of blood was washed away, and when Ben opened his eyes, he smiled just the slightest bit at how much Kyle was taking care of him.

The boy was patted dry with a towel before Kyle disinfected the wounds and bandaged them up. Not wanting to go through the effort of dressing him, he simply wrapped the towel around Ben and carried him back to the bedroom, placing him on the bed.

“I’ll be right back. I’m gonna go get us dinner, since I can’t really use the kitchen.” Kyle stepped back and left the light on, his eyes catching sight of the blood trail again. More than likely, he’d need to clean that up before it ruined the floor, but for now, he had some McD’s to grab.

Ben curled up with the towel, being too tired to reach down for the blanket, and allowed himself to fall asleep. For the moment, anyway, he didn’t have to worry about all the tasks he didn’t do, or the fact he’d broken Kyle’s bong. In that moment, Ben knew that Kyle wasn’t mad at him, and that he understood the situation. For the first time in a long time, he felt genuinely _relieved_.

Kyle returned quickly enough with dinner; two Big Macs, a large fry, and duo large sodas. Quietly bringing it into the bedroom, he laid down beside Ben and kicked off his boots, pulling the smaller man up so he’d be sitting up with him. Setting their drinks between them, Kyle pulled out the burgers, leaving the fries in the bag so they wouldn’t make a mess, although he did take the ketchup packets out. Ben used his good arm to unwrap his burger, grabbing one of the ketchup packets and opening it with his teeth before squirting it on the wrapper for the two of them to dip fries in. Seeing this, Kyle couldn’t help but smile, and leaning over to him, planted a kiss on the top of his head.

“I figure you’ve gone long enough without a decent meal. And today was punishment enough for breaking my bong.” Ben looked up at him with wide eyes, hoping he actually meant it. There would be time for doubt later, though, and for now, he wanted to savor the moment he was spending with his boyfriend before things inevitably went haywire again.


	5. Hello Stranger

A few weeks passed, more or less unremarkably. Ben’s wounds healed slowly, but wasn’t long until he was able to work again. One grey, drizzly morning, Ben awoke to the sound of the front door opening, but with two voices following it. Semi-muffled laughs could be heard through the partially-open door, and after stretching out, Ben crawled over to the doorway, peering through to see who had come back with Kyle.

The man in question was roughly the same height as Ben’s boyfriend, but had reddish hair and a small piercing on his left ear. He was more in shape than Kyle, but without any skin blemishes, and he sported a faint 5 o’clock shadow. His voice had an unmistakable Eastern European accent, but overall his tone was warm and inviting. To Ben, he didn’t seem like the kind of person Kyle made friends with, but then again, he’d never met any of Kyle’s friends before.

Ben stepped back and looked for a clean shirt, slipping on a pair of Kyle’s basketball shorts before standing up and pushing through the door. His steps were slow down the hallway, trying to keep his presence relatively hidden until he could get a better look at the visitor. Both Kyle and the other man were sitting on the couch talking, grinding up weed for their bongs, neither noticing Ben for a couple seconds until Kyle spotted him out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh, Ben! C’mere! I’d like to introduce you to someone.” Over the last few weeks, Kyle had been considerably nicer to him, not raising his hand to him once or even bringing up the broken bong. In fact, Ben had been surprised that Kyle had brought home one of his friends at all, since in the past he’d told Ben that he liked to keep others out of his “personal life.” Moving around the couch, the boy smiled at the strange man, giving him a friendly wave.

“H-hi, I’m Ben.” The other man nodded slowly to him, making eye contact and returning the introduction.

“Hey Ben, I’m Luka. Nice to meet you.” Placing his grinder down, he leaned back and placed his elbow on the arm of the couch. “Kyle’s mentioned you a few times at the gym.”

Hearing him mention the gym answered the question Ben had been asking himself. Made sense for Kyle to meet someone who looked like Luka at the gym. Getting to observe Luka up close now, he could see how much muscle the man had under wraps, even putting Kyle to shame. Ben suddenly felt Kyle’s eyes on him. Stammering out a, “c-can I get you guys anything? Beer? Chips?” he could tell Kyle had cocked his head at him, but must have given him the benefit of the doubt.

“I’ll take a beer. You, Luka?” Ben felt a wave of relief wash over him as attention was diverted from him. The other man shook his head and picked up his grinder again.

“Nah, I’m good. But thanks for asking.”

Nodding, Ben quickly stepped over to the kitchen, pulling a beer out from the fridge and popping the cap off before bringing it back over to Kyle. The two men had resumed their earlier conversation, with Kyle turning on the TV while Luka pulled out his lighter. Realizing that he was going to be left alone for the day, he opted to tidy up the bedroom, listening for Kyle in case he needed something.

 

\--

 

A couple days later, Luka returned for another hangout. While Luka prepped his weed, Kyle searched his stash, unable to find any. Ben had been watching from the kitchen, washing dishes, before Kyle called him over to help him look. Having kept track of how much his boyfriend had, Ben already knew that he was out, but said nothing at first.

“I think you might have run out the other day, ‘cause I’m not finding any,” he said, walking back over to the kitchen. His voice was small, and Kyle growled in response.

“Fucking hell, of course I’m out, now of all times.” Standing up straight, he looked over at the smaller man, his eyes catching Luka at the same time. He took a moment to contemplate the ramifications of leaving the two alone together. As much as he worried about the two of them bonding, he figured he could trust Ben. After all, he’d been good to the boy, and he had no reason to leave him.

“I gotta run out and buy some more. I’ll be back in a bit, maybe an hour. That cool, Lukas?” The other man’s eyes twitched for a moment.

“It’s Luka, but yeah.” Sensing Kyle’s apprehension, Luka opted not to look back at Ben, in case it implied he would do anything to his friend’s boyfriend. “I’ll be here.” Taking a deep breath, Kyle exited the apartment, leaving the door unlocked.

Now alone together, Luka turned around on the couch and gestured with his head for the boy to come sit with him. Ben froze up a bit, gradually placing the plate he’d been washing back into the sink, and walked slowly over to the opposite end of the couch. Still, he hesitated in sitting down. Luka spoke softly to him.

“You can sit, Ben. It’s perfectly fine.” He moved his foot off the ottoman so the boy wouldn’t be as intimidated.

Placing his hand on the back of the couch, Ben let it slide as he tucked a leg up and moved onto the cushion, moving both of his hands onto his lap once he was situated. He glanced up at Luka, unsure of what to do or say. The man picked up his bong and added his weed to it, taking a hit before speaking again, blowing the smoke out above him.

“You and I never really got to talk. I’ve heard some stuff about you from Kyle, which is fine, but I wanted to actually talk to you too.” He paused for a moment to cough. “What brought you here? Like, into Kyle’s life? He told me you used to be a stripper or something, wasn’t sure if it was true.”

Ben’s face paled, feeling wildly embarrassed by his past. Biting his lip, he lowered his gaze to the couch cushions. “That was part of it, yeah. I went from stripping to hooking. That’s how I met him.”

Luka raised an eyebrow at him, folding his arms a bit. “Damn, hooking? You didn’t strike me as the stripper type, let alone hooker,” he stopped himself, realizing how that sounded, “Not that that’s a bad thing. You’re just pretty quiet is all.” Picking up the bong again, he flicked his lighter on.

“What changed?”

Ben looked up at him, a bit taken aback by the question. He’d never really thought about how he’d changed as a person since those days, but in reality, he absolutely had become someone totally different. Even as a youth, he’d been relatively outgoing, and really it wasn’t until he fell into Kyle’s clutches that he became much more of the “speak only when spoken to” type.

“I-I dunno. I guess… once I started dating Kyle, I didn’t need to be as outgoing. I stay here with him, and I don’t really need anyone else.” Ben shrugged, unsure of what else to say. Luka had been putting his weed away, but stopped for a moment as Ben answered his question. Setting the container down, he looked back over at the boy, realizing that that was all he was going to say.

“So you never go out anywhere? When was the last time the two of you went out on a date?” Luka quickly realized his questions were entering sensitive territory, and that they probably came across as gauging their relationship. “Sorry, I’m probably prying too much. You don’t have to answer that.”

Ben opened his mouth for a moment, but said nothing as Luka followed up his question. “No, it’s fine. I mean, a few weeks ago we went out to the store down the street, but we mostly stay at home.” Hearing himself speak made him feel guilty. Ben wasn’t trying to make Kyle sound like he didn’t care about him!

Steering the conversation back to less intimate details, Ben leaned back a bit and decided to ask Luka some questions instead. “Your accent, it’s European, right? I don’t really know all the accents over there, but it doesn’t sound like your typical accent.” The other man chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Yeah, it’s not. At least, not here. I’m Serbian. Second-generation too. My parents moved here a while back and had me. They spoke a lot more Serbian than English at home, so I got used to using it more. I speak English just fine, but I haven’t bothered to shake the accent, I guess.” Taking a sip from a can of soda he’d opened while responding, he swallowed his drink and added, “You have good ears.”

The compliment made Ben blush, a small smile forming on his lips. “Thanks.”

The two continued to talk for well over an hour, without signs of Kyle’s return. As they got to know each other, Ben warmed up to him, smiling more through the conversation than he had in the last several months. The apartment even felt more like a home to him. As Kyle walked in, however, a chill seemed to follow him, and Ben sunk back into the couch, hugging himself with one arm and lowering his gaze once again.

“Back! And sorry it took so long.” Unaware of how his boyfriend’s mood had changed, Kyle walked over to the fridge and grabbed out a beer he’d opened the day before and brought it over to the couch. Meanwhile, Ben had stood up and moved back from the couch, pausing for only a moment to look back at Luka before walking over to the kitchen sink, resuming his earlier task.

The two had made eye contact for only a split second, but it was more than enough for Luka to see how helpless the boy felt around Kyle. Everything the man did shook Ben’s world. It was hard to see someone like Ben caught up in such a situation, but Luka knew that Kyle cared about him. Perhaps his friend simply didn’t realize what he was doing? He’d wait before saying anything, though. He wanted to observe just a bit longer.


	6. True Love

“Don’t you have anything that isn’t a tank top or t-shirt?” Kyle snapped at Ben, leaning against the bedroom door frame with his arms crossed. He watched the smaller man digging through the piles of laundry, periodically holding something to check if it was his, clean, and somewhat nice, but he was running into an issue with variety. The older man had already dressed, wearing a clean white polo shirt with faded dark green pants, having paired them with some steel-toed combat boots and a black faux-leather jacket.

“I mean, not really! I didn’t have much before I met you, and it’s not like we’ve gone shopping recently!” Ben was too frustrated to worry about his tone, instead scrambling through the mess of shirts that were on the floor, looking for something to match his pair of black jeans.

“Look, we’ve already wasted enough time. Just throw on your cleanest, darkest shirt and get your shoes on!” He left the room to grab his keys, leaving Ben to pull on an old band t-shirt he had back in high school. Slipping on his Vans, he grabbed his blue jacket and darted out the door, spying Kyle in his car, sitting there waiting for him.

The man owned a very dated ‘96 Toyota Camry, with the paint worn and scraped off in places from previous run-ins with concrete walls of parking garages and minor fender-benders. An old air-freshener hung from the rear-view mirror, doing nothing to mask the smell of weed and greasy french fries, while his rear bumper had a few faded stickers on it, one of which was put on by the car’s previous owner and been partially removed by Kyle. The fabric upholstery was clearly old, the seats containing a few mystery stains as well as the crumbs that resided in the crevices. A faint squealing sound could be heard as it was started up, reminding Ben how much he hated riding in it.

“I’d normally have us walk, but it’s kind of far, and I don’t have any desire to walk back later tonight.” Placing his phone in the cradle attached to the vents, Kyle pulled up Luka’s address from a text and plugged it into his maps app, watching as it calculated the route. Ben felt bad about the clothing situation earlier, so he said nothing in response. He’d wait until they arrived before piping up at all.

The drive there was pretty straight forward, but it was in another part of town and took about 10 minutes to get to. Ben rolled down the window halfway and stared out at the city lights, taking in the fresh air as they drove. It had been  _ months  _ since he’d been anywhere beyond the quarter mile radius around their apartment. It was a figurative -- and literal -- breath of fresh air for the boy, aided only by the fact they were going to Luka’s condo for dinner.

The two grew to become better friends over the last few weeks, with Ben even being invited to sit with them when they’d smoke. Kyle kept his eye on the two of them, noticing how they’d gotten closer, but still reserving judgement on whether or not Luka was a threat. He very much wanted to believe that his friend had no malicious intent with becoming close to his boyfriend, but that remained to be seen.

Kyle parked out front, telling Ben to head up and announce their arrival, as he gathered up his things that he brought with him. Slowly taking each step, Ben took a deep breath and upon reaching the door, knocked a couple times. He couldn’t help but notice the neighborhood they were in, which was considerably nicer than their own, and wondered what the inside of Luka’s condo looked like. The door swung open suddenly, with Luka smiling the moment he laid eyes on Ben.

“Nice to see you.” The man’s warm gaze managed to make Ben grin back, and a faint blush fell across Luka’s cheeks. Quickly moving his hand through his hair, he turned around and led the boy in, keeping the door open for Kyle, who had followed closely but not noticed the blush. Luka had decided to really make an event out of the night and worn a red button-up shirt with black slacks. On his right wrist was a silver watch, while the gold chain he frequently wore over to their apartment hung from his neck. All of this was complemented by his black oxfords, polished to a shine. Clearly the man took care of himself.

Ben felt woefully underdressed the further into the condo he went, seeing how the man had swept, vacuumed, and dusted everything, and the table was all set up with plates and utensils. Zipping up his jacket, Ben lowered his head a bit, letting his hair fall in front of his face. Luka noticed this and led them over to the kitchen.

“I’ve got snacks all set out. Feel free to help yourself to them.” Ben’s face lit up a bit at the snacks, and he walked over to the chips, taking a small handful to munch on. Kyle got a bit closer to Luka and held up his bong and weed, indicating he wanted a place to put them, a smug look on his face. His own face going a bit red, the other man led him into the den, leaving Ben alone in the kitchen. The whole condo was surprisingly nice, causing Ben to wonder why Luka even hung out at their apartment so often when he had a nicer place right here. Upon Luka and Kyle’s return, the latter scowled but said nothing, as the former pulled a foil-covered pan out of the fridge and put it in the pre-heated oven.

“Hope you guys like lasagna! Made it earlier but didn’t want to risk it being done and getting cold by the time you got here. It’ll probably take an hour to cook fully, but that’s what conversation’s for.” Ben’s stomach rumbled hard as he thought about dinner, having not eaten lasagna in years.

“I can’t wait!” Ben’s face went red, realizing how suddenly he’d reacted, but Luka merely chuckled. Kyle, on the other hand, didn’t really react. In fact, he cleared his throat a bit and moved towards the door.

“I’ll be outside.” He didn’t wait for a response from either of them before leaving. Ben shrunk down again, nibbling on a chip and leaning back against the counter. Luka cringed at Kyle’s sudden exit before turning his attention to the cowering man beside him.

“Eugh. He’s probably like that because I told him I didn’t really want to smoke with him tonight. I usually smoke outside, but not so much in my condo since I agreed I wouldn’t when I got the place. Homeowner’s Association and all.” Noticing he didn’t receive much of a reaction from the boy, Luka placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder. He looked up at the taller man, swallowing the bit of food he had in his mouth, his hands still shaking. Part of Ben knew that Kyle being upset would always come back to bite him, but he had hoped that this night wouldn’t turn into a shitshow. Why is it this happened every time they went out?

“Hey,” Luka murmured to Ben, stepping over to the room he’d previously taken Kyle into. “C’mere.”

The boy hesitated at first, unsure if he should follow, but his mind echoed back to the first day they actually talked, and he decided it would be better to trust Luka. He tailed him into the other room, where the man turned on a lamp, sitting down on a couch against the far window. Moving beside him, Ben watched the other man peer through the blinds out at Kyle, who was slowly smoking a joint on the sidewalk. He released the blinds and looked back over at Ben, who flinched at the sudden movement. Luka let him have his space, but didn’t move any further away from him, letting him settle down so he’d be willing to talk. The last thing he wanted to do was pressure the boy.

“Ben,” Luka’s voice was gentle, soothing even, “What’s on your mind?” The smaller man didn’t immediately respond. He sat there, staring off at the floor, trying not to cry or react in a way that would weird Luka out. His voice shaky, he stammered out a soft “um…”

Luka said nothing. He wasn’t going to force Ben to talk if he genuinely didn’t want to, but it seemed like there was something he wanted to say -- something he’d been wanting to say for a while -- and all the man wanted to do was provide him a place to do so. Kyle would be preoccupied for another five minutes or so, and this was probably the first time Ben had been asked about how he felt in a long time. As much as Luka liked Kyle, his image of who his friend was was rapidly being challenged by how his lover seemed to react to his bad mood. He didn’t want to make a snap judgement about their situation though, about his friend, until he got the bigger picture. Still, it wasn’t like Kyle was his closest friend. He absolutely did get under his skin from time to time.

Ben wasn’t terribly sure how to collect his thoughts, but he knew what opportunity he’d been given and didn’t want to waste it. He offered a brief, silent apology to Kyle, in the event he said anything that would later bite him in the ass.

“I don’t want to go home afterwards. Not if he’s gonna be all angry. It’s always really uncomfortable when he’s in a bad mood.” Holding his hands in his lap, he squeezed them a bit harder, trying to keep them from shaking any more, while also praying that he wasn’t getting Kyle in trouble.

Luka cocked his head to the side a little bit, keeping his eyes on the boy. “Why is it uncomfortable?” Ben squeezed his hands a little bit harder.

“Because… because he gets upset with me. It’s usually my fault, and he just gets really angry and… and, yeah.” His whole body was trembling, with Luka moving his head a little closer upon noticing. Something was wrong, something Ben wasn’t saying. There was more to this that he was saying. Inside, Luka was torn up, wanting to know badly, but not wanting to unfairly pressure him. The direction the conversation was going, however, seemed too important to not pursue.

“And yeah…? Is that all that happens when he’s angry?” Luka held his breath, waiting for Ben’s response. An internal war raged inside of Ben, but just when he was about to speak, Luka’s eyes darted over to the window, as Kyle turned and headed back for the door. Ben instantly knew why he looked away and shut himself up immediately. Luka’s gut wrenched and he stood up quickly, walking back out to the kitchen to fetch everyone beer.

Ben didn’t get up right away. He contemplated what he very nearly spilled to Luka and felt harrowed, even disgusted with himself. Perhaps the other man had been asking because he wanted to tell Kyle. Maybe he wouldn’t believe him, and that what Ben was saying was too outlandish to make sense. It had probably been for the best that he said nothing.

Making his way out of the room, he took the beer that was sitting on the counter for him and sat down beside Kyle on the living room couch. Luka sat on the loveseat near the couch, sipping his beer and chatting nonchalantly with the other man. Although he didn’t show it, Luka was acutely aware of how Ben was acting and it was leading to him no longer trusting Kyle. He’d act friendly for tonight, but wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue their friendship. Still, if he ceased communication, then Ben would be stuck in a potentially dangerous situation, and he couldn’t do that. It seemed the only option was to feign friendship with Kyle until he’d deduced whatever was going on, and hope that he could help Ben afterwards.

Idle conversation was made until dinner was ready, but the mood never really lightened up, not even once the food was served. Ben ate readily, but he never lifted his head up. Kyle’s mood improved, but he had certainly noticed that not only was Ben upset, but he’d come out of Luka’s den alone. Something had happened while he was out, and he would figure it out.

“Dessert? I bought a cheesecake that I thawed earlier for us.” Luka hoped it would brighten things up. Ben nodded slowly, with Kyle agreeing verbally. Almost automatically, Ben stood up to help clean up, when he was stopped by their host.

“Please, I’ll take care of it. You two are my guests and I’m here to take care of you.” Ben looked up at Luka, distress in his eyes, but looked back at the place where his plate used to be once it was cleared. The man had to ignore what he saw to keep up the  façade, as much as it pained him to, with Kyle taking note of the silence. After serving them up their cheesecake, Luka and the rest of the table remained silent, with only Kyle speaking up to thank him for the meal. When Ben didn’t immediately follow, he shot him a disappointed look. Ben’s gut seized up and he quickly stammered out a thank you as well, to their host’s discomfort.

As the two prepared to leave, Luka hung back with Ben while Kyle went to fetch his car. His blood began to boil as the two of them talked without him, and he took deep breaths to keep himself calm.

“Ben,” Luka placed his hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, which caused him to flinch, “I’m here for you. If you need anything, let me know, okay?” Ben opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Kyle honking the horn at him. Casting a look of desperation at Luka, the boy stepped away towards the car, wanting to stay with him while also knowing he had to go back with his boyfriend. It was tearing him up inside.

Ben climbed into the car and sat very still, staring down at his lap while he remained silent. Kyle said nothing as well, wanting Ben to stew in whatever he was feeling right now. Whatever it was, it was doing Kyle’s job for him while he had to drive, but once they were home, he knew he’d get the answers he wanted. He had to know if bringing Luka into their lives was a grave mistake.

Arriving home, Ben rushed inside, surprising Kyle but also serving to make him more angry. Why would he be moving so quickly if he wasn’t guilty of something? With the car locked up and his bong in hand, he went inside, locking the door behind him. Ben was scrubbing some dishes in the sink, just trying to keep busy and avoid talking about anything at all, as Kyle placed his bong on the upper counter above the sink. His gaze sunk deeply into the boy, who gradually stopped washing dishes and looked up at him.

“Y-yeah?” His voice barely eeked out of his cowering body, Kyle puffing up his chest just a bit as their eyes met.

“What’s going on between you and Luka? And please,  _ don’t _ act like I’m stupid.” Kyle’s voice was low, a calm fury brewing just below the surface of his words. Ben slowly moved to keep scrubbing, which Kyle eyed closely. He wasn’t sure how to answer him, since they’d become friends, which was true, but anything more? Nope, they’d done nothing to pursue a relationship beyond that, in his eyes, anyway.

“Nothing.” Ben’s response was short, angering Kyle. He placed his hands on the counter beside his bong and leaned forward.

“Don’t  _ lie _ .”

Ben paused his scrubbing yet again, panicking. More than likely, no answer he gave, be it the truth or not, would satisfy Kyle.

“I’m not!” As he reached to grab another dish, Kyle grabbed his wrist and pulled forward, teeth gritted as he resisted the urge to yell in Ben’s face. The boy yelped in pain, his other hand moving to Kyle’s hand and gripping it back.

“You’re lying to me!” Kyle snarled, towering over him.

For the first time in his life, Ben felt a fire burning inside of him, a fire that didn’t want to shrivel up and hide. He wasn’t going to let himself be treated like this!

Moving his arms up, pulling against Kyle, Ben tried to shake his arm free, causing the two of them to thrash around, when in their struggle, they slammed into the bong, which fell and shattered on the floor. It was in that instance that every bit of pent-up rage Kyle had been feeling erupted from him and was directed squarely at Ben. Not only had this pathetic boy broken his previous bong, but now, in an act of childish audacity, broken his current bong. Ben’s life began to flash before him, as he saw this realization in the other man’s eyes.

Kyle released his grip on Ben, who scrambled to bolt towards the door, but was caught midway. Tackling him into the wall, Kyle pinned him against it as Ben cried out in pain. Kyle used his left hand to grip Ben’s neck before throwing him to the floor in the hallway.

“Look what you done now, Ben! Look what the fuck you’ve done now!”

Blood began to leak from his nose, and his head was spinning, but he wasn’t going to give up. Yet, as he pushed off the floor, Kyle kicked him hard in the chest, still wearing his steel-toed boots. The wind was knocked out from the boy, who still fought back and shakily pushed himself up, albeit more slowly this time. Getting onto his knees, Kyle placed his hand back down on Ben’s throat, winding up a fist above his head.

“I’m not gonna say it again, Ben. You tell me what you were doing with Luka right now.”

Spitting out blood, his head tilted to the side, Ben took a few deep breaths before responding, barely able to speak.

“We talked.” He could barely say anything with the pressure Kyle was putting on his throat.

“I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve given me no choice, Ben.”

The man’s fist came down hard on Ben’s nose, a cracking sound being heard, followed by screams of pain. The boy squirmed underneath him, gurgling as blood drained into his throat.

“Tell me Ben! What the fuck were you two talking about!” His fist once again primed, he released the smaller man’s throat enough for him to actually reply, still keeping his hand on his shoulder to push him down. Tears streamed out of the boy’s eyes as he tried to speak.

“Y-you!” A sputtered cough left his body. “You were angry! I was scared! He wanted to know why!”

This felt like the truth, the full truth. And not only had he forced it out of him, he had potentially validated whatever he’d said to Luka. For the first time in a very long time, Kyle felt fear.

Standing up, he staggered back away from Ben, looking down at the sobbing, bloody mess lying on the floor. Turning away, he walked over to the couch and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees as he wracked his brain. Ben pushed himself off the floor and sat up a bit. His broken nose was throbbing, but he managed to lessen his crying to just low moans and shivers. He looked over at Kyle and sighed, raggedly.

“Do you love me?”

Kyle flinched at his words, wanting so badly to answer “yes,” but knowing Ben wouldn’t believe him, not right now. Standing up, he moved over to the boy, who closed his eyes and shrunk back, fearing another blow, but rather than do so, he picked Ben up and carried him to the bathroom, where he cleaned up the blood staining his lover’s cheek. This time, however, the actions felt hollow. Kyle felt guilty, and that was entirely why he was bothering in the first place. He was  _ threatened _ by Luka, purely on account of the latter being a better person than him, and Ben knew it.

But guilt was guilt, and Ben was begging himself to give Kyle another chance. Things were different now that Luka was in the picture. Still, he had to tell Luka. He needed to talk to someone who wasn’t caught up in everything.

\--

Some time, late into the night, long after Kyle had fallen asleep, Ben carefully wiggled his way out of the man’s arms and stood up. Pulling on his shoes and jacket, he left the bedroom and fished around in the dark for Kyle’s phone, removing it from the charger. The message from Luka earlier that night, the one containing his address, was still in his texts, and copying the address, put it in the maps app once again. His heart was racing, almost as much as the rain outside poured down, but he knew he needed to do this. As he unlocked the door, he looked back at the bedroom and nearly stopped himself, but thinking of seeing Luka again gave him the strength to push forward. Ben closed the door behind him, knowing he’d passed the point of no return.

His hood was pulled up, which did him good for all of about five minutes, before the rain had him soaked to the bone. He held the phone up to this chest trying to keep it as dry as possible as he made the walk to Luka’s place, periodically checking the route. About 20 minutes in, he was shivering in the cold, only a third of the way there. The sun wouldn’t rise for another five hours at least, so he was stuck walking in the dark and by whatever light came from the weak street lights. Upon reaching roughly the halfway point, Ben stood under an overhang and rested for a moment, hugging himself as he shivered violently. A few tears rolled down his cheeks, mixing with the raindrops dripping from his hair, the pain from his nose just a dull ache.

Ben barely passed anyone at this time of night, and those he did gave him a wide berth upon seeing his bruises and broken nose. It was a very lonely walk there, but he pushed forward, knowing he’d soon be warm and around someone he hoped wouldn’t lay a violent hand on him. Really, this entire journey was based on hope, the hope that he would be putting himself in a better situation.

Once the familiar entryway appeared in his vision, he began jogging, hurriedly approaching his destination. He rapidly knocked on the door, leaning against it as the last of his energy faded. There was no answer. The tears once again rose up in his eyes, fearing the worst, when the door swung open, and Ben fell forward with a gasp. He landed against Luka’s chest, looking up at him with bleary, red eyes.

Luka, who had been sleeping soundly and was woken up by the banging on his door, was horrified to discover a lonesome, completely soaked and ice-cold Ben as the one responsible. Quickly leading him inside, he took Ben over to the bathroom, sitting him down on the edge of the tub as he reached for a towel.

“Ben, Ben listen to me. You need to strip down and rinse off. Warm yourself up; I’ll get you some clean, dry clothes. Hell, I’ll even toss ‘em in the dryer for you. But please, take a shower.” He helped Ben up to his feet and caught the phone that the boy nearly dropped. Instantly recognizing it as Kyle’s phone, his stomach dropped and he backed out of the bathroom to give him privacy.

As he closed the door behind himself, Luka stared down at the phone, anger burning up inside of him. Ben was in  _ terrible  _ shape, and he knew squarely who to blame. Turning his anger into something productive, he freshened up his bed a bit and tossed a pair of sweats, boxers, and a t-shirt into the dryer before grabbing out a spare blanket and pillow to put on the den couch. After the short run cycle, Luka grabbed the clothes and set them on the counter just inside the bathroom door.

A less messy Ben stumbled out of the bathroom a few minutes later, looking between the rooms of the condo before he moved towards the den, only to be stopped by Luka.

“Not tonight, buddy. You get my bed for tonight. I’ll be sleeping there.” He smiled down at the boy, who gripped his shirt tightly. Looking down, Ben sighed, responding in a very small voice.

“Okay. But… I wanna talk.”

Luka nodded and led him over to the bed, pulling back the covers so Ben could climb in. It was without a doubt a much nicer mattress than he’d ever slept on, and considerably nicer than the one he slept on with Kyle every night.

The man climbed onto the bed beside Ben, sitting on top of the blankets but staying close to him. To his surprise, the boy cuddled up to him, seeking comfort. Of course Luka wasn’t going to say no, and he wrapped an arm around him, hoping it wasn’t sending the wrong message. Once they were comfortable, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“So then, what’s on your mind?”


	7. Vuk

“Kyle! Kyyyle!”

The sound roused the man from his sleep, and he groggily rubbed his eyes, wondering why the hell Ben was waking him up so early. Turning to the side, he looked at his phone and saw it was 7:54am.

“Ugh, Ben, why the fuck are you up? It’s not even eight yet!” When he didn’t receive a response, he groaned and pushed himself off the mattress and curled forward, stretching out his spine, trying to purge the sleepiness from his body. He glanced down at his hands and spotted the reddishness from where his knuckles had made contact with the boy’s face the night before, a pang of regret echoing through him. The last thing he wanted was to actually drive the boy away with violence.

Kyle stood up beside the bed and walked over to the bedroom door, looking down the hallway and seeing the kitchen lights on. A soft aroma of bacon and eggs wafted down the hall, sounds of sizzling traveling with it, and like a moth drawn to flame, Kyle began to walk towards it, mouth watering. He hadn’t recalled giving Ben money or permission to go get the bacon or eggs, but he could forgive him, all things considered.

“Damn Ben, that smells-”

But Ben was not there. Kyle hurriedly turned the heat off the stove and placed the bacon and eggs on plates, wondering why the hell Ben would wander off while cooking. The next thing to catch his eye was the front door, which was ajar and moving back and forth with the wind. Some of the loose weed on the coffee table was blowing away, panicking Kyle, and he ran over to it to grab what had landed on the floor.

“For fuck’s sake Ben, what the hell is going on?” What had made the boy so careless?

The man closed the front door, setting his weed back down on the kitchen counter. He stood there for a moment, remembering that the door had been open, and with a cold chill coming over him, slowly stepped over to the door once again, cracking it open and peering outside. Unable to see Ben in the near-blinding rain, he moved outside and looked around, calling for his boyfriend.

A small figure was visible in the distance. With a sigh of relief, Kyle ran over, his pace hastening.

“Thank god. What’s gotten into you-”

The figure turned its head to look up at him, revealing itself to be Ben, but with his face somewhat disfigured. It seemed as though he was crying, but with the rain coming down so heavily, it wasn’t very clear. Kyle got down on one knee and placed his hands on the boy’s legs, holding him gently.

“Ben…?” The boy’s mouth opened slowly, but he found his words quickly.

“ _Do you love me?_ ”

Flashing back to the night prior, Kyle’s grip tightened on Ben’s legs, which made him whimper. An awful feeling boiled in his gut and he released him, wanting so badly to comfort him but knowing that nothing he could do would help him feel better. Ben began to audibly sob, covering his eyes, when Kyle noticed a golden light fading in from the distance behind Ben, a light that gradually revealed itself to be the eyes of a massive wolf.

Its every step shook the ground they stood on, and Kyle backed away in a hurry. When it was clear that the wolf would not stop coming for him, he turned tail and bolted for his apartment, shutting the door behind him and locking it, turning off the lights and cowering on the floor. Its eyes passed around every window, searching for him in the darkness. As it circled the apartment, its growls surrounded Kyle, whose heart was pounding out of his chest as he feared for his life. The yellow glow lit up the entire apartment as it grew, and when the wolf came round again, both eyes bore down on Kyle, seeing him clearly.

Frozen in place, Kyle stared back, knowing there was no escape, but the moment he sprung up to leap for his bedroom, the wolf’s head smashed through the patio doors, its mouth sprung open as it lunged for Kyle. The man slipped on the wet floor, however, and rolling onto his back, saw the wolf directly overhead. He made eye contact with the wolf once again for only a split second, seeing a pair of familiar amber eyes behind the glow, before the wolf’s jaws snapped shut and everything went dark.

Jolting up from the mattress, Kyle clutched his chest as he nearly hyperventilated. Cold beads of sweat dripped from his nose onto the blanket beneath his head, which he wiped off his nose with a shaking hand. However, when he glanced over at the bed beside him, his heart dropped.

Ben was gone.

Leaping up from the bed, he rushed down the hallway and scrambled for the light switch, flicking it on as his eyes frantically searched the apartment for the boy. Catching sight of his missing phone, his heart began to race once more, and he tore up the apartment in hopes that maybe Ben had decided to hide somewhere. As he recalled his dream, Kyle bolted out the door and ran around in the pouring rain, hoping so badly that he’d find him, but still, no one was out there.

“ _Ben!!_ ” He cried out.

“ _BEEEEN!!_ ” Never had Kyle screamed so hard as he was now. His throat burned as he continued to call out for the boy, but there was response, no sound of footsteps running back to him. Kyle was alone.

And he had never felt so afraid.


End file.
